Effects of Dohsa‐hou relaxation on body awareness and psychological distress1

Relaxation is one of the most frequently used methods for treating psychological and physical problems. Many relaxation methods are effective treatments for various psychological problems. Body awareness could be an important component of body‐oriented psychological treatment. In this study, a self‐report measure for the assessment of body awareness was developed, and its psychometric characteristics and relationships with other psychological constructs were examined. The effect of Dohsa‐hou relaxation was investigated using the developed Body Awareness Scale (BAS). The results showed that the BAS had good internal consistency and test‐retest reliability, and that it was associated with related psychological constructs. Dohsa‐hou relaxation led to increased body awareness and decreased psychological distress. The BAS can be a useful instrument in the field of body‐oriented psychotherapy research and related treatment methods, and increased body awareness has an important role in Dohsa‐hou relaxation therapy.     

Books Received

Leg-to-body ratio (LBR) is one of the morphological traits that influences a person's attractiveness. To date, studies confirming that hypothesis have been conducted mainly in Western cultures. They have shown that the average or slightly higher-than-the-average LBR is perceived to be attractive in women. In the case of men, results were more ambiguous; however generally shorter or similar LBRs compared to females were attractive. Here, data on LBR preferences of a traditional, semi-nomad ethnic group (i.e., the Himba of northern Namibia, n = 81) are reported. Also in Himba people LBR influences a person's attractiveness. Similar to Western societies, extremely high and low LBRs were unattractive. However, contrary to previous findings, Himba preferred women of relatively low LBR and men of relatively high LBR.     

Written on the body? Individual differences between British adults who do and do not obtain a first tattoo

Swami, V. (2012). Written on the body? Individual differences between British adults who do and do not obtain a first tattoo. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology 53, 407–412. This study compared individual psychological differences of individuals who do and not obtain their first tattoo. A total of 136 British residents visiting a tattoo parlour completed measures of the Big Five personality factors, Sensation Seeking, Need for Uniqueness, distinctive appearance investment, attitudes to authority, and sociosexual orientation. As compared to individuals who did not subsequently obtain a tattoo, individuals that did were significantly less conscientious, more extraverted, more willing to engage in sexual relations in the absence of commitment, and had higher scores on sensation seeking, Need for Uniqueness, and distinctive appearance investment. The effect sizes of uncovered differences were small‐to‐moderate (η_p² = .07–.14). These results are discussed in relation to the mainstreaming of tattoos in contemporary, post‐industrialised societies.     

Mobility: Disability and Life in the Spirit

Abstract : The author employs the narrative of his own personal experience of disability as an entry to several large issues: the place of body; the challenge of mobility; the processes of medical treatment, therapy, and fitness training; the network of dependence upon family, friends, and society; and the challenge to actively avail oneself of the resources of this network. The power of the human spirit is affirmed as the prerequisite for moving the body and attaining the possibilities of one's life. This power is the work of God's Spirit. A concept of body‐spiriting is suggested. The argument is framed in two parts: (1) in the world in my own skin, and (2) living in the presence of God.     

如何削弱产品来源国效应*—— 产品信息呈现方式的影响研究

以元认知和双系统模式的心理学理论为背景, 研究了分析式系统对来源国效应的削弱, 检验了产品信息呈现方式对来源国效应的调节作用。三个研究说明, 分析式系统的启动可以有效削弱来源国效应; 特定的产品信息呈现方式所引起的消费者信息处理不流畅性感知会激发消费者的元认知困难, 从而使他们在产品评价过程中主要依赖分析式系统, 达到削弱来源国效应的目的; 并不是所有能引起信息处理不流畅性的产品信息呈现方式都能削弱来源国效应, 过于复杂的呈现方式由于给消费者带来过多认知负荷, 反而不能成功启动分析系统, 从而无法削弱产品来源国形象对消费者产品评价的影响。     

控制和外界客体社会效价对身体拥有感的影响

研究采用运动橡胶手错觉范式,操纵了“控制”和“社会效价”两个变量,通过行为实验探讨了控制和社会效价对身体拥有感的影响。结果发现,与“被动控制”条件相比,“主动控制”条件产生了更强的拥有感; 与“不利”条件相比,“有利”条件产生了更强的拥有感。且“控制”和“社会效价”的交互作用显著:无论哪种控制条件,有利条件下的拥有感都显著高于不利条件下的拥有感; 无论哪种效价条件,主动控制条件下的拥有感均显著高于被动控制条件下的拥有感。该结果表明,控制和社会效价是产生身体拥有感的条件。研究结果为提高假肢佩戴者对假肢的心理接纳程度提供了有益的训练途径。     

萌萌哒还是古灵精怪?奢侈品品牌可爱风格对消费者偏好的影响

奢侈品品牌热衷于使用可爱风格与消费者进行互动。本文以理想自我理论为基础,通过4个实验探索奢侈品品牌可爱风格类型对消费者偏好的影响机制和边界条件。实验1表明奢侈品品牌的可爱风格(婴儿图式/古灵精怪)会显著地影响消费者的品牌偏好,验证了主效应的因果链模型。实验2进一步明确了主效应的边界,结果表明品牌可爱风格对消费者偏好的影响只在奢侈品品牌的情境下才存在。实验3探索了自我监控水平对主效应的调节作用,发现对于低自我监控的个体,奢侈品品牌的可爱风格难以有效地影响品牌偏好。实验4分析了个体发展阶段对主效应的调节作用,结果表明对于成年期个体,古灵精怪可爱风格比婴儿图式可爱风格更能提高个体的奢侈品品牌偏好,对于童年期个体,婴儿图式可爱风格比古灵精怪可爱风格更易获得青睐。     

Is the hijab protective? An investigation of body image and related constructs among British Muslim women

Previous studies have reported equivocal findings concerning the impact of wearing a hijab, or Islamic head‐ and body‐cover, on Muslim women's body image. Here, we sought to examine that impact using a larger sample of Muslim women than has been relied upon and a wider range of body image measures. A total of 587 British Muslim women completed a battery of scales assessing their frequency and conservativeness of hijab use, body image variables, attitudes towards the media and beauty ideals, importance of appearance, and religiosity. Preliminary results indicated that 218 women never used the hijab and 369 women used some form of the hijab at least rarely. Controlling for religiosity, women who wore the hijab had more positive body image, lower internalization of media messages about beauty standards, and placed less importance on appearance than women who did not wear the hijab. Among women who wore the hijab, hijab use significantly predicted weight discrepancy and body appreciation over and above religiosity. These results are discussed in terms of the possible protective impact among British Muslim women of wearing the hijab.     

The body of the analyst and the analytic setting: Reflections on the embodied setting and the symbiotic transference

In this paper the author questions whether the body of the analyst may be helpfully conceptualized as an embodied feature of the setting and suggests that this may be especially helpful for understanding patients who develop a symbiotic transference and for whom any variance in the analyst's body is felt to be profoundly destabilizing. In such cases the patient needs to relate to the body of the analyst concretely and exclusively as a setting ‘constant’ and its meaning for the patient may thus remain inaccessible to analysis for a long time. When the separateness of the body of the analyst reaches the patient's awareness because of changes in the analyst's appearance or bodily state, it then mobilizes primitive anxieties in the patient. It is only when the body of the analyst can become a dynamic variable between them (i.e. part of the process) that it can be used by the patient to further the exploration of their own mind.     

Do Religious Affirmations,Religious Commitments,or General Commitments Mitigate the Negative Effects of Exposure to Thin Ideals?

Western pressures for thinness tell women that having a thin body makes a person worthy. Two factors that may provide alternative means of self‐worth are religion and general commitment to a meaningful goal. This study experimentally tested whether religious‐affirming statements buffered against exposure to thin models for everyone, or only for women with strong religious commitment. It also examined the relationships among religious commitment, general commitment, and body satisfaction. One hundred eleven women at a religious‐affiliated college completed the commitment scales and baseline body measures. They were later randomly assigned to read one set of affirming statements, after which they then completed body measures again. Results showed that religious commitment buffered against exposure to ultrathin models. Women who were strongly religiously committed and who read religious statements that affirmed the body showed higher body esteem. Correlation results showed that general commitment was positively related to body esteem, body satisfaction, and healthy dieting. Religious commitment was positively related to body esteem and body satisfaction. Results are discussed in relation to schemas and depth of processing. Practical implications are discussed.